Puniceus Protege
by ShellGrad
Summary: "As much as it pains me to say this, Lisbon…that did not quite go exactly the way I would have liked." / "Red John is dead! I know it! I saw the bullets rip through his body! There's no way he's behind this." Lisbon stared back vehemently at Cho. "How sure are you?" The stoic agent questioned in return. / Rated M for future violent scenes.


**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist.**

**Here is the first chapter of Puniceus Protege, the sequel to Crimson Cabin. I'm very excited about this new story and I can't wait to see what you all think about it. I'm not entirely sure how many chapters it will be but I'm thinking it will be fairly long. At least ten chapters? Most likely more but we shall see. The rating is M for future violent scenes.**

**This chapter is a little longer than the sneak peek at the end of Crimson Cabin.**

* * *

Jane closed the door and quietly crept into the tiny apartment's living room, eyeing the folded, empty cardboard pile that would soon become a collection of boxes. Despite his frequent visits over the past few months, that was the all he was here…a visitor. "So…" he stalled, rocking back on his heels as he gauged Lisbon's reaction.

"So," she answered quietly, calmly, as she continued to pack her living room into the boxes.

Clearly, she wasn't going to throw him a bone. He was going to have to be more forthcoming. "As much as it pains me to say this, Lisbon…that did not quite go exactly the way I would have liked."

She sighed slightly and shook her head though she never looked at him."Jane, I knew they were going to fire me over our relationship. It was only a matter of time."

"I thought we could keep it secret," he admitted somberly.

"Because that worked so well for Rigsby and Van Pelt," she retorted dryly. It didn't escape Jane's notice that she had yet to look at him.

"Well, their mistake was coming clean and telling you."

"Not true," she refuted without raising her voice in the slightest. "Hightower figured it out without me saying anything."

"That's because they were too obvious. Half the building knew," he reminded her.

"Yes, because completely losing your mind when you thought I'd died wasn't obvious," she commented pointedly.

Jane sighed heavily as he tried to shake off the heart clenching feeling. "How was I supposed to react, Teresa?"

"And here I thought you knew a con when you saw one. Jane, as many times as you've made a play to catch the killer, how can you not recognize one even if you aren't a part of it?" She finally turned to look at him.

And not for the first time when she confronted him head-on, Jane lost his usual ability to articulate. "You were – or I _thought_ you were…I'm surprised you haven't noticed already, Teresa. It's not easy for me to keep my grasp on reality when you're in danger."

She turned her attention back to the boxes. "Regardless, I didn't have much choice but to tell Chief Gable the truth after the scene you made."

"I still maintain that she's being unreasonable, Lisbon. I gave several convincing arguments as to why she shouldn't fire you. I even offered up my job."

"Yep, and she took you up on it too."

"What's going on? Where are you going?"

Lisbon sighed, losing the little patience she had left. "I've been fired, Jane. I'm going to have to find another job and I won't be finding it here. That means moving. I don't know where yet – "

"But packing and organizing helps you when you're stressed."

"Yes."

"So, FBI?"

"You think they'll want me?"

"The agent that took down Red John? Absolutely."

"The agent that was practically delivered to Red John," Lisbon correctly wryly.

Jane hid his grimace. "Call it strategy."

Lisbon stopped packing and faced him. "And what are you going to do?"

"Maybe start a consulting business."

"Back to your psychic days? Are you really sure that's the best idea?"

"I wasn't talking about that type of consulting, Lisbon. Why not just do what I did for the CBI as a private contractor?"

"Because you won't be in business for long with the way you piss people off," she pointed out with a smile.

He gave her a chastising look. "Contrary to popular belief, my dear Lisbon, I can control myself. Besides, I've always had you to smooth the ruffled feathers."

"And how am I supposed to do that if you're an independent contractor?"

"You could – "

"Oh, no no no. You are not talking me into this."

"Come on, Lisbon. You could be my Watson."

"In what universe?"

"This one," he answered with his most charming smile. "Come on. You already know you're going to say yes. Might as well do it now and save us both the trouble." He could see her thinking of excuses. "And you wouldn't even have to pack."

"And just who would pay for these services?"

"CBI, most likely, since they just lost the both of us; FBI possibly; local LEOs most definitely…people who don't want to get the police involved…"

"Got it. Thanks. We're going to need a place."

"That should be easy enough. You said we," he pointed out with a big smile. "Does that mean you're in, Teresa?"

***PProtege***

"_Lisbon! Where are you?!" He yelled into the phone, not caring that all eyes were on him. The victim's fiancée and the team members could only watch in anxious anticipation._

"_JANE!" Her pain strained voice came through the static. There were bumps and knocks as he pictured her dragging herself into a safe hiding spot._

"_LISBON!"_

"_Jane, listen," came her teary, desperate whisper, "he's coming. The killer is – "_

_He silently cursed the static that cut her off. "Lisbon?" The silence was deafening. "Lisbon!" Then he heard the blood curdling scream that began that all-too-familiar numb feeling. The phone slipped from his hands and he too began to fall to the ground. He was saved by who he assumed to be Cho and Rigsby. _

_They sat him on his leather couch as his whole world began to crumble. He couldn't control his breath. He couldn't stop the tears running down his face. The world was an eerie quiet. He thought he may have screamed but he didn't hear it. He didn't hear anything. It was as if the very ground beneath him had opened up and swallowed him, sucked him down to the depths of hell. _

_He knew where this lead. He'd been there before. But he had no intention of going to the hospital. He felt himself stand, calmly numb. He just had to make it out of the building. His heavy feet carried him only a few steps before he was tackled to the ground and handcuffed._

"_We don't know anything yet, Jane," Cho yelled at him gruffly._

_He didn't have the strength to find a way to pick the lock. He knew they couldn't hold him forever. Even if they admitted him, he knew how to get out of the hospital. He knew the right lies to tell. He just had to bide his time. So he waited….and waited…until he saw it: Lisbon's face coming down the hall. He'd thought he'd truly lost it this time, that he was hallucinating. He felt this light spark deep inside of him._

"Hey, you okay?"

Jane looked up to see Lisbon looking at him with that adorable concerned look of hers, bringing a smile to his. "Never been better, Teresa."

"Good. Then you can put down the tea and help me set up this office that was your idea, might I add."


End file.
